Gray Bar Opinions, Please

[eleven24]

Hello,
I am circling and circling....before buying; I like this vehicle...the MME GTPE. Or maybe I really want to like it. Yes, I really want to like this vehicle. I am anti Tesla. And I am old enough to not consider Kia and Hyundai to be 'real' auto companies. Anyway I have read about about the top end limit and the 5 second governor. Although a performance enthusiast, I could probably be fine with these things. As I unwrap this onion, I am reading about gray bars....gray bars in cool weather....gray bars at 70% and less....gray bars here...gray bars there....all prohibiting full performance. Seems troubling.

Opinions; Are the gray bars a problem for you?

I've been having the same feelings of circling and circling, only I'm dong so with a MME GT (non PE) on order. I've come to the conclusion through all of the videos and reviews I've viewed or read that it's easy to get caught up in what you're not getting because everyone is looking at the GT from a performance/track standpoint. Very few review or comment on the GT as an everyday vehicle.

For example, I get that Magneride is great when cornering but I have to read between the lines to find out that it smooths out everyday roads a bit, but not dramatically so. Same goes for the 5 second limit and the gray bars. Fine, I get that they're there but I'm not going to be running 0-60 tests in daily driving. I'm also not going to be hard cornering up a mountain (like in the out of spec review) to where the gray bars are limiting me at 50%.

Yes, I understand it all carries over to everyday driving, but it's still hard - especially when you're in the long wait from order to potential delivery - to not consume media and opinions that have you questioning whether you're making the right choice.

I just have to keep telling myself that I've had a wide variety of performance cars in the past and the several test drives of the MME GT have left me feeling with this is every bit, if not more of a performance vehicle than all of those - and I'm going to love it

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[smoke20]

I've been having the same feelings of circling and circling, only I'm dong so with a MME GT (non PE) on order. I've come to the conclusion through all of the videos and reviews I've viewed or read that it's easy to get caught up in what you're not getting because everyone is looking at the GT from a performance/track standpoint. Very few review or comment on the GT as an everyday vehicle.

For example, I get that Magneride is great when cornering but I have to read between the lines to find out that it smooths out everyday roads a bit, but not dramatically so. Same goes for the 5 second limit and the gray bars. Fine, I get that they're there but I'm not going to be running 0-60 tests in daily driving. I'm also not going to be hard cornering up a mountain (like in the out of spec review) to where the gray bars are limiting me at 50%.

Yes, I understand it all carries over to everyday driving, but it's still hard - especially when you're in the long wait from order to potential delivery - to not consume media and opinions that have you questioning whether you're making the right choice.

I just have to keep telling myself that I've had a wide variety of performance cars in the past and the several test drives of the MME GT have left me feeling with this is every bit, if not more of a performance vehicle than all of those - and I'm going to love it

Bingo! These cars do DELIVER useful real world performance...different than sitting at a stoplight and building boost for the 0-60.....(in a 35 MPH zone).

I let a coworker (Porsche driver) drive my new car. He had never driven an EV. We pulled out of the parking lot and I told him to 'git it'...we were rolling at 30MPH. "Holy $@&#!!" came out before we could ever hit the 5 second governor. Whew! The look on his face..... LOL.

Secretly, my wife really likes this car. It is the first time I have ever purchased a car and we both want to drive it....and she is not afraid to drive it. All of my prior cars have been of no interest to her. She is not a gas gunner.

I chose the GTPE because it was available on a dealer's lot and I liked the carbonized gray metallic and it was within 2 hours from my house and the dealer was 'only charging MSRP'. I had never test driven any MME until the day I went to pick it up.

One oddity. I do find that when I press the 'P' button the center screen shows where there are parking lots/spaces....seems like a really bad Elon Musk joke...a la the fart button in Teslas. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at the meeting where Ford decided to scrap the self park and re-purpose button to show parking.

Hope you get your car real soon.

 

[kkriskal]

Hello,
I am circling and circling....before buying; I like this vehicle...the MME GTPE. Or maybe I really want to like it. Yes, I really want to like this vehicle. I am anti Tesla. And I am old enough to not consider Kia and Hyundai to be 'real' auto companies. Anyway I have read about about the top end limit and the 5 second governor. Although a performance enthusiast, I could probably be fine with these things. As I unwrap this onion, I am reading about gray bars....gray bars in cool weather....gray bars at 70% and less....gray bars here...gray bars there....all prohibiting full performance. Seems troubling.

Opinions; Are the gray bars a problem for you?

You will never ever get close to hitting the grey bar vs. power required on any kind of regular driving (highway, passing, inner roads anywhere). It will only be a problem if you want to track your vehicle which most people do Not do with the Mach E. I drive a lot on state highway (2 lane) so it requires lot of quick passing and I have pass with ease, it will hit 100 with zero effort so no problems at all

 

[Darauk]

I've been having the same feelings of circling and circling, only I'm dong so with a MME GT (non PE) on order. I've come to the conclusion through all of the videos and reviews I've viewed or read that it's easy to get caught up in what you're not getting because everyone is looking at the GT from a performance/track standpoint. Very few review or comment on the GT as an everyday vehicle.

For example, I get that Magneride is great when cornering but I have to read between the lines to find out that it smooths out everyday roads a bit, but not dramatically so. Same goes for the 5 second limit and the gray bars. Fine, I get that they're there but I'm not going to be running 0-60 tests in daily driving. I'm also not going to be hard cornering up a mountain (like in the out of spec review) to where the gray bars are limiting me at 50%.

Yes, I understand it all carries over to everyday driving, but it's still hard - especially when you're in the long wait from order to potential delivery - to not consume media and opinions that have you questioning whether you're making the right choice.

I just have to keep telling myself that I've had a wide variety of performance cars in the past and the several test drives of the MME GT have left me feeling with this is every bit, if not more of a performance vehicle than all of those - and I'm going to love it

I posted on this thread earlier that I love the car. I will never drive it on a track or try to do a real drag race. It's snappy and fun as hell.

Just this morning I was at a light in the first position in a lane that was going away. There was a large class ICE SUV next to me. I punched it a bit, leapt ahead, and pulled neatly into the main lane with several car lengths to spare. I never exceeded the 40 MPH speed limit. I just accelerated like all get out, beat the other car, and had a bit of fun doing it.

Earlier in the week driving on a highway, I was getting boxed in by a couple of semis. I was going around the speed limit of 70 MPH when I saw a sufficiently large opening. Again, I punched it, got to about 100 MPH in a few seconds, and squeezed between the semis to go on my way, slowing back down to 70 MPH. No way could I have done that in my Nissan Altima or even my Infiniti G35 previously. I don't even thing my spouse's big honking F150 ICE could have pulled that off.

Every day driving is fun as hell, and I am never disappointed with my GTPE performance.

(Software glitches is another story...)

 

[randomvoice]

Honestly, this thread gets posted again and again and apart from like 5% of the real track driving enthusiasts, the gray bar is never gonna be a problem for most daily drivers. If you're planning to daily drive this thing, never in my ownership so far have I said to myself 'hmm wish I had more power'. Even on highways where I'm going at 70mph, I can pass about any car without any issues.

For folks questioning, go take a test drive a GT/GTPE. Punch down the pedal and see if you can hold the thing down for 5 seconds while your eye balls and neck gets pushed into the seats. My wife literally screamed the first time I did it and asked me to not pull that stunt again. I know some folks are disappointed about it but, realistically, having the power down low to get you out ahead when the light hits green is much more important than having power over 80mph for a daily driver. If you tap the thing for 5 second without lifting your foot, you're already touching 80mph.

 

[Mach1E]

You will never ever get close to hitting the grey bar vs. power required on any kind of regular driving (highway, passing, inner roads anywhere). It will only be a problem if you want to track your vehicle which most people do Not do with the Mach E. I drive a lot on state highway (2 lane) so it requires lot of quick passing and I have pass with ease, it will hit 100 with zero effort so no problems at all

Unless it’s cold outside.

Or you have a low state of charge.

Or you’ve been driving on the highway.

Or you’ve accelerated a fair amount recently.

Basically everything Has to be perfect for the gray bars NOT to show up.

Is it still fairly quick with gray bars? Sure. But it’s “Honda Accord quick” not “Mustang GT quick.”

Personally? I keep my car near 90%, live in Florida and do 95% city driving. So I’m still happy. But for other people? Gray bars can be an issue.

Just watch the video of when a tester recently drove “spirited” through some twisties in the mountains. Acceleration slowed to a literal crawl. Like dangerously slow if you actually needed to pass someone.

 

[Darauk]

Personally, for what it’s worth, I’ve never seen gray bars, even at 35% SOC in cold weather.

 

[mkhuffman]

Personally, for what it’s worth, I’ve never seen gray bars, even at 35% SOC in cold weather.

That is very unusual. For me the first gray bar appears at around 77% SoCD. To get maximum power you need a full charge, according to Ford and my car's display.

 

[Mach1E]

Personally, for what it’s worth, I’ve never seen gray bars, even at 35% SOC in cold weather.

You must not be looking hard enough. ?

They’re there. A lot of times you just don’t notice them. But once you see them you can never unsee them.

Another way to guarantee gray bars is to drive above 72 mph. They are speed dependent as well.

Just to test that theory I put the car in neutral down a tall bridge. Gravity accelerated me past 72 mph and they still showed up.

 

[Darauk]

You must not be looking hard enough. ?

They’re there. A lot of times you just don’t notice them. But once you see them you can never unsee them.

Another way to guarantee gray bars is to drive above 72 mph. They are speed dependent as well.

Just to test that theory I put the car in neutral down a tall bridge. Gravity accelerated me past 72 mph and they still showed up.

Perhaps that's true. Where do they show up? I presume in the panel behind the steering wheel, but where?

Again, mildly cool weather and I was able to accelerate quickly from 70MPH to 100MPH to pass a semi and never experienced a power lag. To be honest, I didn't need to get going that fast, I just didn't pay attention and was going 100MPH before I realized it.

 

[steve.panse]

Is it still fairly quick with gray bars? Sure. But it’s “Honda Accord quick” not “Mustang GT quick.”

I can personally confirm that the MME GTPE is “Mustang GT quick”…smoked an ICE GT from 0-70 at 42% SOC (which I consider low).

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

Personally, for what it’s worth, I’ve never seen gray bars, even at 35% SOC in cold weather.

Then you need to redefine what cold is. Even at 80% SOC, when it’s 15°F, unless I’ve preconditioned, there’s 12-15 grey bars.

 

[mkhuffman]

Personally, for what it’s worth, I’ve never seen gray bars, even at 35% SOC in cold weather.

Perhaps that's true. Where do they show up? I presume in the panel behind the steering wheel, but where?

Again, mildly cool weather and I was able to accelerate quickly from 70MPH to 100MPH to pass a semi and never experienced a power lag. To be honest, I didn't need to get going that fast, I just didn't pay attention and was going 100MPH before I realized it.

Here is where you will see the gray bars:

This is my car sitting in my garage tonight and at very warm temperatures. And I have one bar.

I have measured the WOT current draw at 1 bar and it is still over 1,000 Amps, so one bar isn't significant. But it means the car isn't at full power.

 

[buzznwood]

Perhaps that's true. Where do they show up? I presume in the panel behind the steering wheel, but where?

Again, mildly cool weather and I was able to accelerate quickly from 70MPH to 100MPH to pass a semi and never experienced a power lag. To be honest, I didn't need to get going that fast, I just didn't pay attention and was going 100MPH before I realized it.

They appear in the microscopic power meter at the bottom left, you will have dashed grey bars showing you where your power cap is along with a solid grey bar that slowly clears when you lift off when you get really hobbled by system which is actually rather easy to get happen.

Most EVs with a power meter have it instead of a rev counter with a nice large circular display or bar showing, power usage / regen along with any power limitations which is inevitable as charge lowers. The best ones also have the point the friction brakes are used in the regen portion.

Your GTPE is not magic it will have grey bars the fact you don't notice them probably explains why Ford made the meter microscopic in the first place as if they used a proper sized one more people would actually see how nobbled the vehicle is.

Plenty of people won't feel any limitations or have problems in there normal day to day driving which is fine, but lets not sugar coat what is a serious limitation for what is sold and marketed as the performance trim.

 

[The Black Horse]

It seems like you are more performance-oriented than tech. For that reason, I think you will like the GTPE. You are the first person I would recommend this car to.

I have owned the car for two years now, and at this point, I firmly do not recommend it to most. It's just not worth the hassle of a 60-80k car.

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